by Elisabeth Rappe, Mar 24 2010 // 4:00 PM

The fun part of Western Wednesdays is discovering little gems like Rio Conchos that were lost in the shuffle of giants like John Wayne. Lacking any big stars or cult iconography like Django’s coffin, they just sit on Netflix waiting for someone to dig them up.
Rio Conchos is a slow burn of a movie, more of a Western noir than a real shoot ’em up. Everyone has an agenda, no one can be trusted, and you’re just not sure who is going to screw it all up and make off like a bandit. It also starts off rather typical with the usual trope of “There’s been a raid, a bunch of rifles are missing, and they’re going to wind up in the hands of Apaches!”
Naturally, a disparate bunch of men are assigned the task of tracking down the rifles — a bitter ex-Confederate (Richard Boone), a Buffalo Soldier (Jim Brown), an ambitious Army Captain (Stuart Whitman), and a smooth-talking Mexican mercenary (Tony Franciosa). Of course, they don’t get along. The ex-Confederate makes no secret of his dislike of blue coats or black men, and while they come to a grudging understanding and respect, they never really become friends.
Continue Reading →
Like this:
Like Loading...
Posted in: Movies · Reviews · Western Wednesdays · Westerns
Tagged: Jim Brown, Movies, Richard Boone, Rio Conchos, Stuart Whitman, Tony Franciosa, Western Wednesdays, Westerns
2 comments
by Elisabeth Rappe, Dec 31 2009 // 6:00 AM

It’s taken five weeks of Western Wednesdays, but The Duke has finally arrived. I haven’t meant to neglect him. In fact, half the reason I took on this feature is because my knowledge of Wayne is so very poor. He’s all over my Netflix queue, but I kept putting him off simply because he’s a bit daunting. He has cast such a long shadow over this genre that I thought I ought to watch films he wasn’t in in order to better appreciate his stature.
This week, I had decided that the last column 2009 had to go out with Wayne. As divine providence would have it, Justin Gray suggested The Comancheros. Gray has wonderful taste in film, and he’s the co-author of DC’s Jonah Hex which gives him Eastwood stature. When he suggests a Western, you watch it immediately.
The Comancheros is a great, great Western that avoids a lot of the pitfalls of the genre. It’s a big movie, but it’s tightly plotted, and never gets lost in the sprawl of the desert. There isn’t a single character you meet that doesn’t have something to do with the storyline.
I’m so used to throwaway scenes that when the film started in New Orleans, I was very skeptical it would make it to the Republic of Texas in any way that was believable. But it does! And it’s so fun to watch it make it’s way that I’ll only give you the barest of summaries:
Paul Regret (Stuart Whitman) is a Louisiana dandy who begins the film as only one cocky half of a New Orleans duel. He kills his opponent, and is threatened with the hangman’s noose because this particular honor-seeker happened to be a judge’s son. He flees Louisiana, but the lawman’s arm is long, and he’s finally nabbed by Ranger Capt. Jake Cutter (John Wayne). But that’s only the beginning of the adventure, and you’ll have to watch to find out if Regret ever makes it to the hangman’s noose.
Continue Reading →
Like this:
Like Loading...
Posted in: Movies · Reviews · Western Wednesdays · Westerns
Tagged: Firefly, John Wayne, Movies, Stuart Whitman, The Comancheros, Western Wednesdays, Westerns
4 comments